‘Torygraph’, and other newspaper nicknames
‘The Daily Telegraph’: nicknamed ‘Torygraph’ for its adherence to Conservative Party—the ‘Daily Mail’: nicknamed ‘Daily Heil’ for its support for Fascists in the 1930s
Read MoreTag: Margaret Thatcher
meaning and origin of the phrase ‘like turkeys voting for Christmas’
(of an action or decision) hopelessly self-defeating—UK, 1979, with reference to the Scottish National Party’s decision to vote with the Tories
Read More‘handbag’: how Thatcher enriched the English language
‘handbag’: to bully or coerce by subjecting to a forthright verbal assault or criticism—originally used with reference to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Economist (7 August 1982)—from literal meaning ‘to batter or assault with a handbag’
Read Moresome British uses of ‘the enemy within’
a threat within a community, nation, etc., as distinct from an external enemy—infamously used of British miners’ leaders by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984
Read More
word histories 